


Implication and Inference

by KahtyaSofia



Category: Generation Kill
Genre: Challenge: Combat Jack: Team Night, DADT, M/M, Post-Canon, Prompt: Scuttlebutt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-08
Updated: 2010-08-08
Packaged: 2017-10-11 00:03:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/106028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KahtyaSofia/pseuds/KahtyaSofia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brad has a secret that really isn't one after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Implication and Inference

**Author's Note:**

> _Prompt:_ Scuttlebutt - gossip

  
Brad gazed into the flames crackling away in the fire pit before him. The sun had set about an hour ago. Twilight had been brief and now they were fully enveloped in darkness. The flickering orange glow of the fire cut through the night but left enough in the shadows to keep Brad alert and watchful. The voices of his fellow Marines ebbed and flowed around him, tone and tenor on the edge of his awareness but actual words indiscernible.

"Hey, anybody heard from the LT lately?"

Brad's heart kicked up in pace as the question filtered through the background interference. Their platoon commander held the rank of Captain and here, absent of any Corps related conversation, there was only one person the title 'LT' could apply to.

"I think Mike said he talked to him," Lilley answered Garza's question.

"He doin' anything besides studyin' his ass off?"

Brad kept his eyes focused on the flames and pretended not to be listening as he took a long swig of his beer.

"You know the LT," Lilley replied, pausing to spit into the sand. "Gotta push himself, gotta have a million fucking things to do."

Brad watched his own thumb smear the condensation on his beer bottle as he forced his breathing to slow.

"Be nice if he visited sometime soon," Garza said as he tossed another thick log into the flames.

"I think Mike said he just got back from a camping trip or somethin'. If he doesn't have a lot of free time, I don't blame him for doing somethin' fun instead of hangin' out with a bunch of grunts."

"I figured he'd be settin' up house with someone by now."

Every muscle in Brad's body clenched at Garza's offhand comment and a chill ran up his spine. He barely suppressed a shudder.

"I hear he's seein' someone," Lilley replied. "Has been for awhile. Think someone said they don't live in the same city so no settin' up house."

"Hey, Brad," Eric said quietly and Brad started. He gave himself a silent kick in the ass for relaxing his vigilance. It was just that he'd thought he was safe amongst his fellow warriors. "How was that rafting trip you took awhile back?"

"It was fine," Brad answered, sparing Eric the briefest of glances. "Fun."

"You go white water rafting in Colorado and all you have to say about it is 'fine' and 'fun'?"

Brad shrugged and drained his beer, his mind racing with the possibilities of what the guys might know about his trip.

"Did you take a friend?" Eric asked pointedly. "Did your friend have fun?"

"I went to Colorado to go camping and rafting," he said, putting as much disdain into his voice as he could muster. "It's not like it was a fucking arctic expedition."

"Mmm," was Eric's only reply.

Brad tossed his empty into the metal bin with a loud clang and dug into the cooler for a fresh one. The mention of Nate going camping had him on edge, but Eric immediately following up with questions about Brad's rafting trip filled him with a cold sense of dread. He wondered if there was any fucking way they had found out it was all the same trip. Brad swallowed back the bile that rose at the thought.

"Yo, dawg," Poke greeted, coming to stand between Brad and Eric. "You fucked up, yet?"

"Unlike you miserable dick-sucks, I can handle my alcohol," Brad answered.

"Yeah, yeah. You're fucking perfect, Brad. We get that." Poke shook his head and shot Kocher a look Brad couldn't read.

Brad was saved from answering by Rudy joining the group. He stared off into the darkness and willed the conversations around him to shift.

"That's our Brad," Rudy said, smiling at the assembled group. "I swear the only person who ever lived up to Brad's standards was the LT."

Brad clenched his teeth. Where and when might he have fucked up and let something slip? Why was everyone still so calm if they _knew_. He stared up into the night sky as if it held answers.

"Brad fucking loves me." Ray's voice emerged from the darkness before he did. "I am the best RTO in the Corps. You losers should kneel before me and suck my dick."

A collective moan rose up from the group and Brad smiled around his beer, silently grateful for Ray's penchant for causing a distraction.

"Hey, gents," Mike said in greeting as he joined the group.

The return greetings were cut short by headlights illuminating them all as a car swung into a space among their own vehicles. Brad frowned and tensed as he tried to identify the driver. They weren't expecting anyone else to join them. The level of tension rose around him as everyone's situational awareness increased.

Brad heard the car door shut and a voice shout over the sound of the gentle surf. "What a fucked up bunch of Devil Dogs."

Heat suffused Brad's system and his mouth was suddenly dry with desire. Nate's voice had that effect on him. His hand shook as he lifted his beer to his lips. His cock stirred in his jeans as the car's headlights finally shut off, plunging them all back into darkness and letting Brad see the vague outline of Nate's body.

The assembled Marines greeted Nate raucously, calling out good-natured obscenities. They gathered around him, each taking a turn to shake his hand vigorously or to embrace him in a bone-jarring, backslapping hug.

As Brad's night vision returned, he could see Nate's wide, brilliant smile. His eyes glittered in the firelight and Brad suddenly felt as though he'd been reduced to an over-emotional 'tween.

Then, he remembered the conversations of just minutes before and his heated blood turned to ice water.

"Brad, you sly motherfucker," Ray called out. "Not even a hint for your best buddy Ray, that our favorite ex-Marine was comin' to visit."

"I had no fucking idea," Brad said incredulously, raising both hands in defense.

"Bullshit," yelled Poke.

"I'm the only one who knew," Mike interrupted. "The LT wanted Brad to be surprised, too."

Brad had to admit he was surprised. Stunned fucking speechless, actually.

Nate embraced Mike roughly, but watched Brad from over Mike's shoulder. A smirk danced at one corner of his mouth and amusement lit in his eyes. Nate pulled back from Mike and moved in Brad's direction.

Brad tossed back the last of his beer and threw the empty into the bin just in time to grasp Nate's extended hand. Brad felt himself pulled in for a hug. He gripped Nate's hand tightly and relished the feel of their bodies pressing together, even as they slapped each other on the back roughly, their alpha-male display complete.

"Good to see you, sir," Brad said in a rough voice.

"Good to see you, Brad," Nate replied, then turned his face closer to Brad's ear. "I've missed you," he whispered.

Brad suppressed a shudder of pleasure at both Nate's words and the feel of his breath ghosting the shell of Brad's ear. Nate had kept the motion subtle, in response to their audience. Still, Brad was keenly aware of the eyes trained on them.

Nate effortlessly turned everyone's focus onto himself, and Brad was relieved at the opportunity to stand aside again, and fade into the background. He searched for a way to ground himself, to help him get back on an even keel. Brad stared out into the night and watched the surf roll up the sand only to recede once again. It was too dark to see clearly so details remained indistinguishable to him, for all that the motion was obvious.

He drank in the sight of the firelight dancing across Nate's smooth skin. He watched each nuance of expression and the way Nate used his hands while he spoke. Each time Nate glanced his way, Brad could feel that the two of them were speaking volumes, without saying a word.

That's how it had always been between them. That's the way it still was. Brad searched the darkness for how and why it was, but no answers were forthcoming. The night held onto its secrets.

Brad tuned back into the conversation and realized the Marines were congratulating Nate on his relationship. They were happy he was seeing someone steadily. Those sly fuckers hadn't once made a reference to gender or asked for a name. He felt a moment of relief that his men were accepting of what they suspected about Nate's life. Brad's relief was immediately supplanted by the conviction that they would be far less accepting if they knew Nate was involved with one of their own.

He should interrupt the conversation and change the subject, but what Brad really wanted to do was press himself to Nate's back and inhale his scent. Since he couldn't do what he wanted, he put more and more space between himself and the group. Right now, it was the only fucking defense he had.

Gradually, the large group became several smaller ones. Eventually, Nate was speaking only with Mike. Brad stood on the edges of the shadows, not quite in the dark, but near enough. He watched Nate excuse himself from Mike and walk over to where Brad stood.

"Hey," Nate greeted quietly, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans.

"Hey," Brad said in answer.

Nate inclined his head, indicating a direction up the beach and away from the group.

Wordlessly, Brad turned and followed.

"You didn't mention the fact you were in California when we talked this morning," Brad said when they were out of earshot.

"I wasn't," Nate said. "Yet."

"You sneaky shit." Brad snorted softly with humor.

Nate chuckled.

They walked in comfortable silence for a time before Brad finally spoke again. "So, why _are_ you here?"

"I've been hearing some rumors and I wanted to see if they were true."

"Rumors? Didn't think you listened to gossip."

"I listen intently to gossip about you."

"Me?" Brad asked dubiously. "Who the fuck is gossiping about me and what are the assholes saying?"

"Your fellow Marines suspect you have a crush on someone and it's getting serious."

"Christ," Brad suspired.

"It's not what you think," Nate said, nudging Brad's arm with his shoulder. "It's just that anytime I talk to one of the guys, they make a point to mention you and a mysterious someone. You're traveling a lot and disappearing completely over the course of a weekend here and there."

"Shit," Brad moaned.

"It didn't take me long to realize they weren't using pronouns when they talked about your _friend_."

Brad could hear the implied air quotes.

"DADT keeps them from saying anything outright, but your fellow Marines are convinced you have very strong feelings for a person who is not a woman. Each time the topic comes up, it's very strongly implied that either way, they're all fine with it."

Brad heaved a heavy sigh as his perception of the earlier conversations suddenly shifted. Lilly's comments and Eric's questions no longer seemed so threatening. Now they seemed more like hints. Hints and acceptance.

"So, is it true?" Nate asked when Brad had been silent for quite awhile.

"Is what true?" Brad asked, a part of him already knowing the answer.

"Do you have strong feelings for someone who is not a woman?"

Brad stopped walking. Nate stopped a few steps afterward and turned to face Brad.

"Nate," Brad said, making a gesture of helplessness with his hands.

"Brad?"

"You know I do."

"I know you do, what?"

Brad sighed in frustration, scrubbing a hand over his hair. "You know I have strong feelings for someone who is not a woman."

"No, Brad. In point of fact, I do not." Nate stepped in closer. "I know you and I speak on the phone almost every day. I know we email several times a day. We send each other gifts, fly back and forth to spend weekends with each other, and we've taken several extended trips. Just the two of us."

"You left out the fact that we have a lot of fucking hot sex," Brad said in a low voice, in case anyone else might be taking a walk on the beach.

"We fuck like horny jackrabbits," Nate said, a smile lighting his face.

Brad felt himself returning the smile as he was enveloped in warmth and his cock stirred.

"I have very strong feelings for someone who is not a woman," Brad confessed.

"Yeah," Nate said, not looking away from Brad and not blinking. "Yeah. So do I."

Brad watched, heart in his throat, as Nate closed the final distance between them. He felt Nate's arms wrap around his waist at the same time Nate's warm lips pressed to his chilled ones. He brought his hands up to grip Nate's upper arms. Brad swiped his tongue along Nate's lower lip and was immediately granted access.

Nate moved one hand to the back of Brad's neck and held their mouths sealed together. Brad teased at Nate's tongue and moaned when it rubbed back against his own. He bit at Nate's swollen lip, swallowed the answering grunt, then dived back in. They licked and kissed each other and Brad let himself sink into it. He might not be able to talk about it openly, but this just felt _right_.

"Gotta be discreet about this, Nate," Brad breathed against Nate's wet, parted lips.

"Absolutely," Nate agreed breathlessly, grinding his burgeoning erection against Brad's hip. "Just don't have to be so secretive about the fact we've remained friends."

As Nate said the words, Brad realized he'd never before considered the possibility that he could have this, that he could have _Nate_.

"You ready to be even that public about this?" he asked as he dragged his tongue along Nate's jaw and felt the answering shiver.

"I came here ready for that very thing, should the rumors prove to be true." Nate's hands drifted down Brad's back until they cupped his ass firmly.

Just like that, Brad had something that he hadn't ever considered possible for him to have. He knew he'd wanted it all along, now he had to wrap his brain around the knowledge that it was actually within his grasp.

"You staying at a hotel nearby?" Brad whispered as he nipped at Nate's earlobe and ground his hips against Nate's thrusting ones.

"The Westin, downtown," Nate gasped.

"Close enough for now," Brad answered, pulling away reluctantly and taking Nate by the hand to lead him back to his car.

They dropped their clasped hands as they neared the circle of flickering firelight. Still, Brad and Nate rejoined the group with barely a breath of space between them. Those that noted their return sent silent greetings that ranged from a lifted chin to a raised beer bottle.

"I've spent all day on an airplane, guys," Nate announced to the assemblage of Marines. "So I'm going to head back to my hotel, but I'll see you all at the party tomorrow. And, happy birthday a day early, Walt."

"I'm deeply wounded, LT," Ray called across the fire pit, the hand not clutching a bottle gripped his own chest. "You miss my new band's debut concert but you fly all the way across the country for Walt's birthday party?"

"Ray, even _I_ missed the sad debut of your sorry excuse for a rock band," Brad said before Nate could reply.

"You're forgiven cause you were out of town that weekend," Ray was almost prim in his reply.

"And the weekend of Walt's party, I'm _in_ town." Before anyone could leap on the implications of his statement, Brad began to herd Nate toward his car while he said, "You ladies keep the gossiping to a minimum after I leave and don't get into trouble 'cause I will not come bail your sorry asses out."

Brad and Nate stepped into the darkness, a chorus of laughter and friendly shouts of 'goodnight' trailing after them.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a pinch-hit and it only took me a single night, so I'm not so sure how good it really is. Thank you to lunasky for the emergency beta, it is definitely a better fic now that she's had her go.


End file.
